Operation in Caracas, bunker and trial in NY: 5 key points of Maduro’s capture by the US and next steps

USA attacks Venezuela and captures Nicolás Maduro In the first days of 2026, the United States made headlines around the world again with the arrest of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, in the strongest attack against a Latin American country in decades. 🔴LIVE: Follow the latest news in real time SANDRA COHEN: Trump preferred pragmatism to coherence when choosing Delcy Rodríguez as interlocutor of the Venezuelan transition ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp Were you on vacation and want to stay up to date? g1 summarizes everything about the attack below, with all the details of the US attack in Caracas, the repercussions and the next steps in Maduro’s case through US justice. How was the attack? Aircraft are seen flying low during explosions in Caracas The United States Army carried out bombings in Caracas and other regions of Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday (3), starting at 3 am Brasília time. The operation was described as “discreet, precise and conducted in the pre-dawn darkness” by General Dan Caine, US Army Chief of Staff. The action was authorized by American President Donald Trump at 12:40 am on Saturday, also in Brasília. According to Caine, the US launched around 150 aircraft into Venezuelan airspace, including F-18 jets, F-35 jets, B-1 bombers, special operations helicopters and surveillance drones. First, jets carried out bombings on military installations and air defenses in Venezuela. Then, EA-18 Growler aircraft attacked the electrical grid in the capital Caracas, leaving it in the dark. The initial attack opened the way for Delta Special Force helicopters to safely head to Fuerte Tiuna, where Maduro was hiding. American troops arrived at the scene at 3:01 a.m. and exchanged fire with presidential security forces, according to Caine. Soon after, the soldiers reached Maduro just before he could close the door of a bunker. The Venezuelan president and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken to the United States. How many people died? See the videos that are trending on g1 There is still no exact number of deaths caused by the US attack, because the Venezuelan government has not yet released an official report until the last update of this report. However, Venezuelan sources told the American newspaper “The New York Times” that at least 40 people died. The Cuban government and the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed this Monday that 32 Cuban citizens died in the US attack. It is not yet known whether these deaths were included in the North American media report. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino stated that “a large part” of Maduro’s security team was killed during the US operation, but without giving a precise number. How did the US justify the attack? Donald Trump has promised to exploit Venezuela’s oil reserves NICOLE COMBEAU/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock Many countries have criticized the US attack on Venezuela, saying it constitutes a serious violation of international law. According to experts, a military attack on a sovereign country is an act of war. The Trump administration, however, avoided accusations of this nature and avoided talking about an act of war. The White House justified the military action as necessary to support the US Department of Justice in enforcing an arrest warrant against Maduro. The Venezuelan president is the target of the following accusations by the US courts: Conspiracy for narcoterrorism; Conspiracy to traffic cocaine; Possession of machine guns and explosive devices; Conspiracy to possess machine guns for use in drug trafficking. Maduro and his wife were transferred over the weekend to a prison in New York and will appear this Monday in a Manhattan court to hear the charges. Interest in Venezuelan oil A Venezuelan oil tanker from the state-owned PDVSA participates in the filling of an oil tanker at the José shipping and storage terminal, 320 kilometers east of Caracas, February 12, 2003 Reuters Behind the attack and the drug trafficking accusations against Maduro, the Trump administration’s real interest is in Venezuela’s oil, according to experts. This is because Venezuelan territory is home to the largest oil reserves in the world, with around 303 billion barrels. Also on Saturday morning, Trump said in an interview with North American TV “Fox News” that the US will have a “strong involvement” with Venezuela’s oil. The American president also said that US companies will return to Venezuelan territory, as they were before a nationalization carried out by Hugo Chávez between 2007 and 2009. The American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated on Sunday that the US will impose an “oil quarantine” that already exists in Venezuela. The blockade of the country’s oil tankers continues. “We maintain this quarantine and hope to see changes, not only in the way the oil industry is managed for the benefit of the population, but also to stop drug trafficking,” he added. Read more details about the Trump administration’s plans for Venezuelan oil in this article. What can other countries do against US actions? The international community condemned the US attack and asked that the situation not escalate further. Russia and China, considered the Maduro regime’s greatest allies, issued condemnations and demanded the immediate release of the Venezuelan president, but it stopped there. But, in practice, little can be done to actually stop the Trump administration’s actions. In theory, multilateral bodies such as the United Nations (UN) would have the power to stop actions like this, but this does not happen. The USA, for example, has veto power in meetings of the UN Security Council. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the US attack in Venezuela sets a “dangerous precedent”. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) held an emergency summit on Sunday, but the meeting ended without an agreement on a position. While Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Spain (which came as a guest) expressed concern, countries aligned with the Trump administration such as Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia opposed and supported the action. The North American Congress also protested: congressmen said they were deceived by the White House, which had said that the objective of the offensive in Venezuela was not regime change, and demanded explanations. The European Union, an ally of the USA, called for a “peaceful transition to democracy” in Venezuela, but was not forceful in its repudiation of the Trump administration’s military action.

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